Collaborative ECHO research led by Matt Kasman, PhD, of The Brookings Institution, used computer modeling to help tailor effective strategies to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in children. This research, titled “Childhood Sugar-sweetened Beverage Consumption: An Agent-based Model of Context-specific Reduction Efforts,” is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Health experts have long recognized the need to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks among children in the U.S. Large-scale interventions have been expensive and have shown limited effects. ECHO researchers used computer modeling to simulate interventions and measured their impact on reducing consumption in different populations. In the study, data from children ages 2 to 7 years old from three ECHO research sites were input into a computational model of childhood sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.
Researchers found that limiting access to sugary drinks in the home is key, with the potential to reduce childhood consumption by as much as 87%. Reducing sugar-sweetened drink availability at school and childcare facilities was also helpful. The amount of the reductions also varied between the groups of children simulated.
“These findings highlight the importance of tailoring interventions to reduce sugar-sweetened drink consumption based on the characteristics and needs of specific populations,” said Dr. Kasman. “Using computer modeling, we can gain valuable insights to develop effective and targeted strategies.”
In future studies, researchers plan to include older children and adjust computer models to explore the consumption of other foods and beverages with health implications. A summary of a previous study that applied computational modeling to a single ECHO research site can be found here.